Last week, the Department of Defense (DoD) issued a five-year, $950 million award to REAN Cloud to provide cloud adoption services to DoD agencies. DoD utilized its Other Transaction Authority (OTA) for the $950 million award as a follow-on to what was originally an OTA award to REAN for migration services valued at approximately $6 million.
The OTA process enables DoD to enter into agreements with industry and/or academia to provide research and development or prototyping work. In particular, the OTA process provides a means for DoD to access nontraditional vendors, such as those who have not engaged in cost contracting for a period of time. These agreements are not contracts, grants, or cooperative agreements, and they are generally exempt from the rules and regulations found in the FAR or DFARS. Recently, Congress expanded this authority for DoD.
When utilized effectively, OTAs can provide many benefits, including reducing red tape, increasing competition, enhancing DoD access to cutting-edge technologies, and allowing for quick implementation of innovative solutions. As with any procurement decision, however, there are many trade-offs that should be considered, especially considering the fact that the OTA process also can be less transparent than a FAR-based contract.
Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsradio.com/commentary/2018/02/other-transaction-authority-a-tool-in-the-toolbox/
